


Rock You Like A Hurricane

by EvangelineYourkex



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Awesome Robin Buckley, Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield Have a Good Relationship, Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove Is Bad at Feelings, Billy Hargrove Lives, Billy Hargrove Needs a Hug, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Billy Hargrove Tries to Be a Better Person, Bisexual Maxine "Max" Mayfield, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forgive Me, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Minor Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Multi, Neil Hargrove Being an Asshole, Neil Hargrove's A+ Parenting, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley & Billy Hargrove Friendship, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship, Self-Harm, Wingman Robin Buckley, hella lesbian robin buckley, i dont like mike, i hurt my favourite characters, or lucas, probably gonna make star wars references, you will probably notice so I am sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:54:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22492645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvangelineYourkex/pseuds/EvangelineYourkex
Summary: Billy knows that he needs to become a better person, but he doesn't know how. How are you supposed to be a good person when your whole life has been full of pain and suffering?Maybe the people he least expected will help him change.Basically, this is just before season 3 and Billy tries to be better and recover from Neil's abuse. He deserves a hug man. Also I love Robinand Bullying Steve haha. There will be Harringrove,,,, eventually!!(and I will probably make Robin a girlfriend at some point)I am terrible at summaries so just.. trust me lol!!
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove & Neil Hargrove, Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Robin Buckley & Billy Hargrove, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Will Byers & Billy Hargrove
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. What is wrong with another sin?

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING**  
> There is going to be some... unintentional?? Kind of ? Self-harm starting from the line "Billy simply walked straight past him and into his Camaro to have a much needed cigarette."
> 
> Please skip the following paragraph if that is potentially triggering to you!!
> 
> Also, I do not agree with Billy's opinion of abuse making you weak, nor with Self-Harm, as a survivor of both, I would never. That is just a warning! Please be careful loves x
> 
> Thank You!! <3

“Jesus Christ Maxine, You look fucking fine okay?? Why do you suddenly care, anyway?”  
Billy looks up into the clock in Starcourt Mall and might have fallen if he wasn’t already sat down. It had only been 30 minutes. How had it only been 30 minutes? 

He had agreed to take Maxine shopping for summer clothes so that he could escape Neil, one thing he didn’t expect was to walk right out of one hell and into another. Clothes shopping had NEVER been this hard with her. She always picked up a pair of shorts, a plain tee and some converse and she was done, but apparently moving to Hawkins had changed that. Suddenly she is terrified that she might look “too much like a boy,” which is fucking insane. Obviously Billy understood that Maxine would start growing up at some point, but fourteen? Jesus Christ.

“Because, Billy!!! I am supposed to go and meet Luc- I mean, people later and I don’t want to look like complete shit.”  
Oh.  
Suddenly it all made sense, she suddenly cares about what she looks like because of a fucking boy. 

Billy wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was top of his class- even above goddamn Nancy Wheeler, The point being that he isn’t oblivious, either. He knows that she is dating Lucas Sinclair, and he knows that she is hiding it from him. It would be a lie if he said it didn’t sting at least a little bit, knowing that his fourteen year old si… STEP-sister, had more real friends than him, but he’d be lying even more if he said he didn’t understand. He acted like an asshole. He… he even acted like his Father sometimes, which is the one thing that 10 year old Billy Hargrove promised himself he would never do. 

“Language. Look, Max- is it okay if I call you Max?” He waited for her to mumble a quiet “Sure…?” before continuing, “I know that you like Lucas Sinclair, okay? I always have. The thing is, I don’t care...”

He knew he phrased it wrong when he saw her eyes evolve into a look of distaste, and she started to say something about him being a dick and reminding him about the baseball bat a few months prior.

“I DON’T CARE because as long as YOU are happy with it, I am too. The only thing I have ever been worried about is Neil finding out, and you getting hurt. He isn’t the person you think he is. He isn’t a good guy, and I wanted to shield you from that fact for as long as possible. I tried to shield it from you to the point of me being the one to hurt you, which is something I never wanted to do... Don’t let this get to your head, though. I am only saying this so you know I am not some racist prick.” Billy knew he would regret this the second it came out of his mouth, but it was too late now. “Anyway, choose a fucking outfit. You always look the same anyway.”

He saw her smile a faint smile before turning around and fiddling with different clothes on the rack.

On the way out of the mall, Billy and Max ran into Lucas and a couple of other kids, one with an annoyingly stuck up stare, one with hair even curlier than Billy’s, and the other with an uneven bowl cut and pale skin.  
Lucas didn’t realise that Billy was there until he had already said Hi to Maxine and asked her how her day was. The second he made eye contact with Billy, he began turning an impressive shade of red and backing away, stuttering something about being sorry. Billy just rolled his eyes and decided that he couldn’t be bothered with their awkward tween bullshit. 

“Max, you can hang out with them for an hour, okay? Meet me in the Time-Out arcade at 4 and I’ll drive us home, don’t be late or Neil will flip.” he would’ve laughed at the looks on their faces if he wasn’t desperate for a smoke. Simply turning around and walking away before yelling a quick “Have fun, nerds” over his shoulder.

Somehow, faintly hearing the kids bombard Maxine with questions about how weirdly nice Billy was acting finally broke him, letting out a big laugh causing any onlookers around him to turn and stare. 

Just after walking outside the mall he felt himself collide with someone, muttering out a quick apology before lifting his eyes and coming face to face with the one and only Steve Harrington, wearing what must be the most ridiculous sailors outfit he has ever seen.

“Nice to know you can apologise for walking into someone, but still haven’t apologised for beating the shit out of me on Halloween.” This stopped any quip that was about to come out of Billy Hargrove’s mouth. It was obviously supposed to be a joke, but something about the way that Harrington said it made Billy feel queasy- and for the first time in his seventeen years of living on earth, he was stuck on what to say. Instead of saying anything at all, Billy simply walked straight past him and into his Camaro to have a much needed cigarette.

Billy lit his cigarette, feeling the rush of nicotine throughout his veins. It had been at least a day since his last one, which caused him to feel light headed, and... free. He began to think about what he did to Steve Harrington that night in October, and why. What reason did he even have? Steve had nothing to do with what his father did to him, nor did Max, and especially not Lucas. Why did he take everything out on other people? Why was he becoming his biggest fear? Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his arm, looking down to see that he had lowered his cigarette to the point of burning his other arm with it. The shock was one thing but the pain, The pain was… comforting? Going against his better judgement, Billy lifted up the cigarette and pushed it down again, leaving it on his exposed flesh until he heard frantic knocking on his window, causing him to drop the cigarette down onto the car floor. 

Looking up, he sees a pair of doe brown eyes looking down at him with concern. He quickly pushes open the car door and hops out, pushing past Steve and ignoring the growing burning sensation in his arm. How could he be so careless? So weak? What is Neil going to say, or more importantly do?  
It doesn’t take him long to realise something. He doesn’t have anywhere to go. There is at least another three-quarters of an hour left until Max is expecting him, and he can’t go home without her or Neil will kill him. 

Before he can figure out what to do, he feels a hand pulling him backwards, and hears the infamous King Steve's voice.  
“The hell, Hargrove??? Why would you do that? It’s going to get infected! Are you insane??” Billy can’t think of much to say. What could he say?

“I’m fucking FINE Harrington, it’s nothing to do with you anyway. I’ve just got nothing to do, alright? I am waiting for Maxine and she’s gonna be another 45 minutes. Now get lost, pretty boy.”  
He expected Harrington to leave, or at least back away, but instead he got closer, looking worried- and said the last thing that Billy ever thought he would hear. 

“I’m waiting for Dustin and the other kids, too. You wanna come back to my place and listen to music or something? Just to pass time.”

Realising that he isn’t going to get an answer, he continues.

“Look, Hargrove. I don’t like you, but you shouldn’t do that. Ever. You never have to be alone.”

He wants to say no, hell, no a hundred times over, but he can’t. All he can think about is the fact that he has nothing left to lose. 

“Whatever, Harrington. I’m driving the Beemer.” Surprisingly, Harrington doesn’t interfere as Billy begins walking over to the BMW, waiting until Steve unlocks it to hop into the driver's seat and turn on the ignition.  
Maybe things will be okay?


	2. The wolf is hungry, he runs the show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for mentions and descriptions of domestic violence.  
> I am hoping to make the chapters more positive starting from now,,, hopefully with some happy Billy?? I beg myself!
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!<3

Pulling into Steve Harringtons drive made him realise why he was the most popular guy in school before Billy showed up. He always knew it wasn’t because of his jazzy personality, but he could never quite understand what it was; now he does. His house was extremely big, and he even had a fucking pool in the back garden. It was certainly an upgrade from Billy’s own shitty house on Cherry Lane, not that he would ever admit that to Steve.

“So, pretty boy” Billy said after closing the front door behind him. Seeing Harrington cringe made the pet name 100 more times worth it. “What are we planning on doing? Maybe baking some pretty pink cupcakes? Singing along to Madonna? Skinny dipping in the pool?” The look on Steve’s face was priceless,  
Going from embarrassed, to upset, to annoyed.

“Have you tried not being a jackass for more than five freaking minutes? Do you see anybody else out here trying to help you? NO, because you spend all of your time pushing people away! It isn’t fair, Hargrove. The way you treat other people doesn’t make you cool, or interesting, it makes you a dick…” throughout his rant he was edging closer and closer towards Billy, until he was backed into the corner of the room. “We don’t think you’re badass, Hargrove, we think you’re a coward who is so afraid of being rejected that you spend all of your time rejecting others before THEY can reject YOU.”

For the second time that day, Billy was at a loss for what to say; opting to simply snarl out “Fuck you, Harrington. You don’t know SHIT about me. Plus, from what I have heard- you aren’t any better than me.” before pushing past him and slamming open the front door, yelling “Not all of us can have perfect little lives, King Steve.”

How is it even possible that things went so wrong, so quickly. Billy forgot that he hadn’t driven his car to Harrington’s house, but he was too annoyed to go back and ask for a lift, which only left him with one option; Walking.  
By the time he got to the arcade it was 4:30, and by the time he managed to get them home- it was 5:00pm. They were an hour late. A full goddamn hour. Maxine was practically glowing with happiness because of the extra time she had, naive to the hell that was going to happen in her house tonight. 

Before walking inside the house, Billy warned her to be careful and go straight up to her room to listen to music, insisting the second she tried to ask why. She was reluctant, but clearly something about the way that he said it caused her to agree, saying a quick ‘thanks’ before running inside the house and up the stairs. Billy didn’t even make it through the door before being dragged in and slammed into the kitchen cabinets, causing Susan to yelp as she was cooking on the hob, which just so happened to be right next to them. There was some incoherent yelling about responsibility, when Neil brought back his hand and punched him in the jaw, causing Billy to fall, resulting in him instinctively bringing up his hand to catch himself, landing on the scolding hob and yelling out in pain. He felt himself being picked up coming face to face with Neil who was barely able to repress a laugh. Clearly finding his sons pain amusing.

How is it fair that some people got loving, caring parents, and Billy got stuck with a father who constantly hurt and berated him. 

“Careful, Son, wouldn’t want you having to go to the hospital now, would we?” Billy knew that it wasn’t an empty threat, if he wasn’t careful then Neil would make sure that he had injuries bad enough to warrant a visit to A&E, somehow always coming up with an excuse as to what happened to ‘poor, clumsy Billy.’

Clearly feeling as if the punch and burn was good enough, he dragged him to the stairs before pushing him up, causing him to land on his injured hand, making it clear that he didn’t want to see him again that night. 

Walking past a clearly concerned Maxine, who clearly came out of her room due to the noise, he gave her a weak smile before closing his bedroom door behind him. He looked in the mirror and would have laughed if he wasn’t in so much pain.

He looked like shit. 

His hair was in limp curls just below his shoulder, his baby blue eyes somehow looking lifeless. Neil’s punch left a crimson red mark on Billy’s jaw that was sure to bruise, and his hand was beginning to blister on the palm.  
As much as he hated to admit it, he was used to this. Maybe not since moving to Hawkins, but plenty of similar circumstances had happened back in California. Being prepared didn’t make it hurt any less, though. It wasn’t even the physical pain that hurt him; it was the fact that the one Man who was supposed to help, and love, and support Billy was the man who hurt him the most. 

He went under his bed, bringing out the cling film and bandages that he brought there, before carefully wrapping his hand up in both, making sure not to make it too tight.  
He learnt how to treat injuries at the age of 7 after his Mother left. He no longer had anyone else to help him, so he had to care for himself. 

After wrapping up his wound, Billy lay down in his bed and tried to sleep, thinking of the beach back in California, and the stars in the sky, wondering how much better life would have been if his Mother took him with her. Thinking about whether or not he should run away. Back to California. Back to her. On the one hand, he would have escaped the abusive household he suffered so much in, but on the other hand- without Billy as his punching bag, who would be able to protect Maxine??

After a few hours, he managed to fall into a dreamless sleep, waking up in the morning to frantic knocking on the door.


End file.
